[Gibsonmac]

Schiit doesn't suggest a burn-in period. They say the characteristics of the Rag are "set in stone"

Well that is flat bullshiit. And, you don't have to be listening to music to burn it in.

This is what you do: plug in an iPod or your computer or something with a large music library, then press play and leave it, let it play while your at work, while your sleeping etc, for 50 hours. You can do this in shorter sperts if you wish. Now you only need a few days to hear it fully broken in, it's magic!

The TH900 are very easy to drive, pretty much anything drives them well. If you want a balanced termination solution, contact Drew over at Moon Audio, they will convert your cans to a removable cable design, or hardwire them in any balanced termination you want along with a 1/4" ts adapter

 

[MisterMoJo]

Yes balanced output is where you will tell a difference. Also the Rag can drive on the cans the lyr can't such as the he6 etc(yes the lyr will produce sound from the he6, but it will be distorted and lack output). Something like the lcd2 will sound pretty good from both. What headphones are you a/b-ing with? that will likely explain what you are experiencing, that or lack of burn in, which is around 50hrs.

I had a couple questions about the rag if anyone can answer.  If I use the balanced output from a single ended source would I be getting a worth while rag "experience" for lack of a better term?  Also would I be wasting my time with the rag and pairing it with say, my LCD-2.2's?  I have some TH900's but don't want to modify them.  Thanks in advance.

 

[fire2368]

Just a heads up to everyone here, although the balanced output is great, you need balanced input as well to really take advantage. A fully balanced setup is where it's at. My $0.02.

 

[Gibsonmac]

I had a couple questions about the rag if anyone can answer.  If I use the balanced output from a single ended source would I be getting a worth while rag "experience" for lack of a better term?  Also would I be wasting my time with the rag and pairing it with say, my LCD-2.2's?  I have some TH900's but don't want to modify them.  Thanks in advance.

Pretty sure it's a very similar experience on the input side of things, just so long as it's a quality source, because the rag is very transparent. I could be wrong, I'll have double check, but I'm fairly sure the inputs are equally good rca vs xlr. And the rag sounds very very good with LCD2.2's, planars love power, and there is some pretty good synergy.

Just a heads up to everyone here, although the balanced output is great, you need balanced input as well to really take advantage. A fully balanced setup is where it's at. My $0.02.

I could be wrong, but I was under the impression the pre-amp was single ended and the power amp is balanced, which is to say the rca and xlr inputs give you the same sound quality, unless you live under power lines, or have long cable runs etc, it only reduces noise.

 

[johnjen]

The Rok is a balanced amp end to end.
It does accommodate unbalanced inputs and HP outputs.
 
If you run unbalanced inputs, the signal is converted to balanced and then run thru the amp.
 
It has to be this way because of the very nature of the circlotron circuits.
 
IOW running this amp in an unbalanced mode adds additional circuitry in order to deliver a balanced signal to the amplifier stages.
 
The unbalanced outputs to HP's is a noticeable downgrade in SQ.
 
And lastly it is WAY easier (as in is doable) to convert a set of HP's from balanced (4 wire) to unbalanced (3 wire).
The reverse, trying to run HP's with 3 wires as a 4 wire setup is not advised.
This essentialy connects 2 of the 4 wires from the balanced outputs together.
The Rok and other true balanced amps don't like this.
At ALL. 
 
JJ

 

[lukeap69]

I have asked Schiit if there will be lost in SQ if Rok is fed with SE DAC, the answer I got is No. I have tried both balanced and SE connection from my NFB-1DAC. The volume is higher when using balanced. I thought I heard slightly better dynamics and tighter bass when using balanced connection. Now, I do not attribute this to the Rok but to the DAC as my observations are consistent when I was using Gustard H10 (yes, it has both balanced and SE connections, but only SE headphone out.) YMMV.

 

[45longcolt]

 Please tell me the difference between balanced and SE is huge.

 
With my early LCD-3s, swapping the SE cable for the balanced takes the SQ from "transcendent," to "Did I really spend nearly $2K on theses phones? Why did I do that?" If I were to get the 900s, I'd also budget the money for recabling, without question. If you are sticking to SE phones, and not using speakers or balanced phones, you might as well return the Rag because you won't be getting the best out of it. As to break-in, don't expect jaw-dropping changes (the amp is burned in at the factory,) but mine continues to improve subtly, especially in the bass.

 

[Gibsonmac]

The unbalanced outputs to HP's is a noticeable downgrade in SQ

Definitely on the HP out, but not so much with the inputs.

 

[Khragon]

Hi,
 
Just got my Ragnarok, using HE-1000 connecting to the xlr output, and I noticed that I need to turn the volume way up, to around 1-2 o'clock to get good volume, this is at the highest gain setting.
 
Is this normal?
 
Thanks.

 

[Wildcatsare1]

Hi,

Just got my Ragnarok, using HE-1000 connecting to the xlr output, and I noticed that I need to turn the volume way up, to around 1-2 o'clock to get good volume, this is at the highest gain setting.

Is this normal?

Thanks.

Does the Rag have low and hi gain?

 

[lukeap69]

Does the Rag have low and hi gain?

It has 3 gain settings

 

[johnjen]

  Hi,
 
Just got my Ragnarok, using HE-1000 connecting to the xlr output, and I noticed that I need to turn the volume way up, to around 1-2 o'clock to get good volume, this is at the highest gain setting.
 
Is this normal?
 
Thanks.

the small button on the right (next to the MoarKnob) steps the amp thru 3 stages of gain as indicated by the leds to the right of the MoarKnob.
 
And it might be helpful to know that it doesn't matter where the MoarKnob winds up, as long as it provides 'enough'.
 
On my system I use the middle gain setting with the knob cranked as far as 3:00.
 
JJ

 

[eddypoon]

Can't do that. A solid month is twice the amount of time schiit gives me to make a return. Schiit doesn't suggest a burn-in period. They say the characteristics of the Rag are "set in stone"

Who / when / where did you find this no sense? 

 

[Exacoustatowner]

Who / when / where did you find this no sense? 

The website states that the sound is stable once it's reached it's operating temp.
They also burn them in for a week to make sure all is well before shipping. I like most mortals, don't have a perfect audio memory but I can say mine sounded great right out of the box. I do try and warm it up for an hour or so before listening. I just go by feel on the volume control

 

[johnjen]

The website states that the sound is stable once it's reached it's operating temp.
They also burn them in for a week to make sure all is well before shipping. I like most mortals, don't have a perfect audio memory but  I do try and warm it up for an hour or so before listening. I just go by feel on the volume control

My 2¢
 
"The website states that the sound is stable once it's reached it's operating temp."
This is not the same as burn in, which can take several hundreds hours of playing music thru The Rok.
 
"…I can say mine sounded great right out of the box."
So did mine, but it did noticeable improve as hours were accumulated, due to burn in.
 
YMMV
 
JJ